Protective effects of Ecklonia cava extract on the toxicity and oxidative stress induced by hair dye in in-vitro and in-vivo models

Oxidative hair dyes containing rho-phenylencdiamine (PPD) are reported to induce an allergic reaction by promoting oxidative stress when absorbed through the skin. Despite the associated risk, these hair dyes remain popular owing to their convenience and sharpness of color. This makes it important to minimize the cytotoxicity and oxidative stress induced by PPD-containing hair dyes. Ecklonia cava extract has been evaluated in different studies for its protective effects against external stress in fibroblasts and keratinocytes. Our study was aimed at using in-vitro and in-vivo models to investigate the extract's effects on cytotoxicity of and oxidative stress induced by PPD-containing hair dyes. Analysis of CIEL*a*b* Color space was first used to determine the range of E. cava extract that would not interfere with the coloring ability of the dye upon addition. Subsequently, the set ranges of E. cava extract (5% and 7%) were added to the hair dye and their toxicity assessed by evaluating the viability of fibroblasts and keratinocytes. The effects on developmental phenotypes and induction of oxidative stress by hair dye were evaluated and compared with those of hair dyes containing different contents of E. cava extract using an in-vivo zebrafish model. Our results showed that E. cava extract in hair dye could significantly decrease the cytotoxicity and levels of oxidative stress caused by hair dyes containing PPD in both in-vitro and in-vivo models. These results suggest that the addition of 7% E. cava extract to 250 mu g/mL hair dye does not interfere with the coloring ability of the dye while showing significant protective effects against the hair dye. The study proposes that the use of E. cava extract as an adduct to hair dyes containing PPD reduces the cytotoxicity and oxidative stress induced by these hair dyes.